Sidmouth’s community rallies in hospital beds battle
Protesters gather in Sidmouth outside public meeting to discuss proposed bed cuts - Credit: Archant
Residents joined campaigners, frontline staff and healthcare professionals to fight proposals
NHS bosses saw the strength of public opposition to hospital bed closures this week - as people packed meeting halls and petitions topped 3,500 signatures.
Residents joined campaigners, frontline hospital staff and healthcare professionals to fight proposals that will see Sidmouth lose its vital inpatient beds. The consultation which is currently under way was branded ‘fundamentally flawed’ at one public meeting.
In a separate move, Devon’s health watchdog called for the process to be halted ‘before any more damage is done’ while it fights for fairer funding.
A petition to save Sidmouth’s hospital beds has garnered more than 3,000 signatures. Another, for all of East Devon’s inpatient beds to be spared, had reached more than 500 signatures yesterday.
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Graham Vincent, chairman of Sidmouth hospital’s comforts fund, said: “The petition and letters of objection are where the power and strength is.”
For full coverage of the week’s events, see page 19.
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